Russia can't rent Crimea from Russia, FM Lavrov says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has commented on the "plan" to lift sanctions from Russia.

Photo: AP photo

Earlier, The New York Times wrote an article about a "plan" to normalize relations between Russia and Ukraine and lift the anti-Russian sanctions. In accordance with the plan, Russia would have to withdraw its troops from the east of Ukraine. In addition, Ukraine would have to hold a referendum on the possibility for Russia to rent the Crimea from Ukraine for 50-100 years.

"It's hard to comment on that, because we cannot rent from ourselves," Foreign Minister Lavrov said.

According to the minister, the appearance of such plans in Western media shows that the West will not give up attempts to rewrite the rules of the game.

All of this can only distract attention from the previously achieved intention to execute the agreements that were concluded in Minsk in February 2015, Lavrov said.

The head of the Public Chamber of the Crimea, Grigory Ioffe, stated that one cannot rent the people of the Crimea. To crown it all, the question about the status of the peninsula is not to be discussed, he said.

Pravda.Ru

Read article on the Russian version of Pravda.Ru